Job Hunting Goes Mobile

Job seekers are no longer searching for new work exclusively from home or an office — more and more people are doing it on the go, new research shows.

A study from job search engine SimplyHired revealed that the number of workers looking for jobs via mobile devices has skyrocketed, from 2.3 million to 9.3 million in the last year. Overall, 30 percent of the job-search traffic on SimplyHired this year came from mobile devices.

Researchers expect that number to grow to 50 percent by the end of 2015, with usage spread across all platforms and job categories. More than 40 percent of the job seekers studied are using an Android device to look for work, with 29 percent accessing job listings with their iOS devices.

Specifically, 75 percent of all mobile job clicks came from mobile phones, while 25 percent came from tablets.

"Recruiters must figure out how to serve the mobile user or risk losing out on a massive pool of candidates," said James Beriker, president and CEO of Simply Hired.

The study found that mobile candidates are not just killing time, or "snacking" on opportunities, but are actually more engaged than the average desktop candidate when it comes to spending time with job listings. Mobile searchers click on 60 percent more job postings and spend nearly 30 percent longer looking at those jobs than those using a desktop computer. They also spend 25 percent more time on job sites and view more jobs when doing so.

The research discovered that office and administrative jobs, as well as health care practitioners, are the most searched for jobs via mobile devices, with mobile job searching peaking on Mondays and hitting a low point on Saturdays.

The most active period of the day for those looking for work on a mobile device is between 8 and 9 p.m., compared with 11:30 a.m. for those looking via a desktop computer, according to the study.

The research was based on job-seeker activity on Simplyhired.com, which sees more than 30 million unique monthly visitors.

Chad Brooks is a Chicago-based freelance writer who has nearly 15 years experience in the media business. A graduate of Indiana University, he spent nearly a decade as a staff reporter for the Daily Herald in suburban Chicago, covering a wide array of topics including, local and state government, crime, the legal system and education. Following his years at the newspaper Chad worked in public relations, helping promote small businesses throughout the U.S. Follow him on Twitter.